New York City Taps Taylor Swift As Its Global Welcome Ambassador

Samantha Shankman, Skift

- Oct 27, 2014 2:03 pm

Skift Take

NYC & Company is smart to attach the city’s brand to the global “it girl;” however, Taylor appeals to a very specific kind of audience that could in some ways limit the influence of the new global campaign.

— Samantha Shankman

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This morning NYC & Company, the tourism board for New York City, announced on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that musician Taylor Swift is the city’s new “Global Welcome Ambassador.”

The news is part of the city’s new international “Welcome to New York” marketing campaign — replete with a ready-made #w2ny hashtag — that will promote the city to U.S. and international visitors.

The campaign launched with videos in which Swift shares the experiences she’s had in the city and the tourism board complements the videos with itineraries and tools for New Yorkers.

The campaign will continue through 2015 with Swift sharing her favorite New York City experiences through new videos, photos, and written content.

Taylor’s face and song will be spread around the city via outdoor advertising, taxi TVs, and digital billboards in Times Square. Outdoor advertising will also pop up in Boston, Spain and Italy.

As part of Swift’s new role as global welcome ambassador, she will also perform live in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. NYC & Company is not paying Swift to act as the global ambassador and she has decided to donate proceeds of the sale of the single “Welcome to New York” to the city’s public schools.

For all those haters who don’t like the idea of Taylor’s pick, she has this response ready:

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